Scientists are unable to determine the amounts of gases that will be released into the atmosphere because the early studies on permafrost melting are no longer accurate.

The melting of the permafrost does not only affect the environment because of the gases that it releases, but also, because it would lead to the erosion of the Arctic coastlines. This would have a devastating impact on the industry present there and on sites that are of great cultural importance. With the coasts being eroded because of permafrost, sea waves and storms will have better access to the shore. Communities and ecosystems are anticipated to be affected by the floods coming in through the coastal wetlands. The financial costs required for mass movements are colossal, and, in some areas, relocation processes have already taken place. Communities and industrial facilities in coastal areas have had no other solution than to reposition, given the fact that the warming Arctic had been threatening them.

Another impact that permafrost thawing is likely to have on the Arctic is that frozen ground contains toxic and even radioactive materials which will be released into the environment once the permafrost melts. Humans and wildlife will be deeply affected as a consequence of coming across toxic materials.

The melting of sea ice and permafrost influences the native people living in the Arctic, as well as the wildlife in the territory. The Inuit, as well as the animals in the land, had been accustomed to walk on the same travel routes every year, but due to the fact that the ground is no longer secure in certain areas, they have to adopt new routes. This act will have a profound effect on the lives and on the customs of people, and it will produce great stress among the wildlife population. Seabirds, polar bears and seals will have an increasingly smaller habitat, with extinction posing a growing threat for these species and everything that is linked their existence.

While Arctic warming will bring a series of advantages, such as an increase in agriculture and forestry in the territory, it will also work against the locals, as they will be more vulnerable to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.

A notable theory related to the benefits coming along with a warming Arctic is the one concerning how trees would become more and more common in the territory, eating up carbon dioxide and providing the locals with large amounts of wood. Also, employment rates will go up because of the development of the wood industry, bringing benefits to the local and to the international economies. Tree growth would also have a detrimental effect on the present wildlife population, bringing in new animal species, insects, and the risk of forest fires.

Arctic warming is largely influenced by outside factors, as society is to blame for the weather anomalies reported in the Arctic region. On top of the fact that the whole world is responsible for the disaster currently taking place in the Arctic, the Arctic itself contributes to the overall situation through permafrost thawing, through receiving UV radiation from the sun, and through various other factors.

The indigenous populations in the Arctic are known to depend on hunting related activities and with the wildlife population risking extinction, the locals risk facing a disaster, from an economical as well as a social and cultural one. The cultural identity these people have relies (to a certain degree) on them being in conformity with their traditions. The impacts of Arctic warming can actually be observed by studying the local communities.

As long as it continues to be frozen, the Arctic is considered to function as a temperature regulator for the Northern Hemisphere. One might even say that it works like a giant refrigerator. Because of the continuous warming process, the Arctic is no longer accomplishing its role, and, with it, the entire world is constantly getting hotter. Glaciers have normally been known to grow in mass as the winter season had been approaching. However, in recent years, matters have changed, as glaciers continuously shrink, even in the colder times of the year.

It is already clear that the Arctic is warming and that the process is constantly getting faster. Carbon dioxide will continue to exist in alarming proportions in the Arctic, even if mankind decides to fight global warming through all means possible. If international players eventually decide to unite against global warming, it is possible for the process to be slowed down, and, in a few centuries, it is possible for it to be stopped.

Some of the changes the planet's climate is experiencing are believed to be irreparable, but, even so, people still have chances to fight for overall quality of their lives and for the well-being of their children.

Works cited:

1. Brent Carpenter, "Warm Is the New Cold: Global Warming, Oil, UNCLOS Article 76, and How an Arctic Treaty Might Stop a New Cold War," Environmental Law 39.1 (2009).

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